How Talking about Credit Scores Can Improve Your Marriage

This article was originally published on AllYou.com and was written by Jennifer Liu.

You’ve met the parents, survived a combined family holiday, traded embarrassing childhood memories, and are ready to start a life together. But before you hop over to complete your wedding registry, you might want to check out your future life-partner’s credit score.

That’s right—according to an Experian Consumer Services survey, half of married adults say that credit scores were important to them when choosing a spouse. In fact, financial responsibility ranked number two as the most important attribute in a spouse, second only to personal compatibility. Even physical attractiveness and career ambition came after a person’s ability to balance a checkbook.

The survey also measured what kind of shared goals spouses found to be important to maintain a compatible relationship. Having similar financial goals ranked number three in the survey, even above compatibility in sex and intimacy or religion and spirituality. The full list includes:

“Survey findings show that once someone identifies a compatible partner, his or her next thought is about how that person manages personal finances, and credit plays a key role in that scenario,” says Ken Chaplin, senior vice president at Experian Consumer Services. “This holds true for both genders, and the study further shows that working toward compatible financial goals matters to the vast majority of married adults.”

For those of you who might shy away from financial talk, consider this: The survey indicates that 73% of women and 60% of men state that having a partner who openly communicates about personal finances and credit makes him/her more attractive. Talking about credit is especially important when the couple is securing a home loan, applying for interest rates and securing a loan to buy a car. Just a few of many examples proving that in relationships, marriage especially, communication is key. Don’t believe it? Couples married for more than 20 years who participated in the survey reported that credit plays an instrumental role in marriage.